Thursday October 25th 2018

PORTRAITS

curated by Lili White

FILMMAKERS in the HOUSE:  Sarah Bliss & Muyassar Kurdi

Click Here to view the Video of the Discussion

FEATURED FILMS:

#29 ABYSS; Lili White; USA; 6.36
“Speech and writing are imperfect transmitters of thought, but by means of images— we would say ‘ideas’— and the stimuli continued in them, force is set in motion whose action transcends the limits of time…”
— Richard Wilhelm translated by Cary Baynes; The I Ching: the Great Treatise
The I Ching, aka, the Chinese BOOK OF CHANGES, is a “reflection of the universe in miniature.” Attention is placed not on things in their state of being, but upon their movements in change. Its hexagram #29 is water over water, suggesting a pit or a gorge, that flows on and around obstacles in its path. It shows a dangerous situation, whose meaning is “the principle of light is enclosed in the dark” .

TRANSIT(IVE); Sarah Bliss; USA; 06:36
A video document of death, loss and relation that queries the ontology of objects (human bodies “dead” and “living”, machines, film, video, artifacts) and their communication with each other. The video documents an encounter between myself and that-which-my-father-had-become a week after his death, vis-a-vis an encounter with audio recording of his dying breath, clear leader and a 16mm projector. The physical manipulation of the lens of the projector connects the fleshly body to the body of light through the body of film. My fingers, no longer able to caress his face, caress the lens. Dying breath … dust … light …

HIATUS; Vivian Ostrovsky; USA/ BRAZIL; 05.21
The protagonist of this film is the acclaimed Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector (1920 – 1977).Just before her death of liver cancer, discovered in its final stages, she was interviewed for Brazilian TV, on condition it be aired only after her death.
Clarice was born in a small Ukrainian village, Chechelnik, known for its Jewish mystics. She came with her family to the Northeastern town of Recife and lived there for 2 years. After her mother’s death when Clarice was 9, the family moved to Rio. In 1944 she lived in Europe with her husband, a Brazilian diplomat. She moved back to Rio in 1959 and lived in Copacabana for many years. I shot these images in Copacabana, where I also lived in the 60s, at the same time as Clarice. We had several elements in our lives that intersected regarding the family background and Brazil. I included Brazilian music, some of her text and pages of typewritten “concrete poetry”, which was very important in Brazilian literature during that period. Her withdrawn, introspective and reclusive persona fascinates me as does her literature.

LES CHEMINS BLEUS  THE BLUE PATHS; Muriel Montini; Actor: Karl Heil; France; 8.00
There was a park. A mirror was placed in its center and Men could enter it. When they were on the other side of the mirror, they could hear voices and get lost entirely in these age-old stories.

COMPOSITION X1328; Elia Shewionkova; Camara: Luis Rojas Luino; Russia/Mexico; 8.00
Its starting point being an interlacement between Butoh dance and poetry COMPOSITION X1328 is an act of exploration of a character who faces the human condition of mortality. The piece is based on extracts of the poem by Fernando Pessoa “Paso de las horas” using voice samples of the creator and performer Elia Shewionkova. It is a proposal of an approach to a human aspect which, quoting Pessoa, is a “calm confusion of conflicting sensations”. Shewionkova’s intention as an artist is the investigation of the ways of human being. Exploring the feelings, emotions, questions and acts outside of their usual context. Pulling those out of a commonplace and putting under observation. COMPOSITION X1328 is an attempt to plunge into that poetry which asks if “life is too little or too much for me”. Portraying that experience: it’s density, the colors, the textures…. how particular words and phrases create a certain atmosphere, certain pace, rhythm. How it transits through the body resulting in movement, gesture, sound.

MIX WILDFLOWER SEEDS; Federica Foglia; Canada; 1.00

WHERE IS EVA HIPSEY?; Orla McHardy; Ireland; 8.00
An animated film that blends documentary, fiction and poetry. It is based on a short story written by Justin Spooner. The film seeks to convey the power of sound to store and evoke memory. It both recounts and reimagines aspects of his grandmother’s life. The film is told from the vantage point of her granddaughter, voiced by Olwen Fouéré. Where is Eva Hipsey? mixes fact and fiction to search for a truth or representation of Eva’s reality, past and present. It combines experimental animation techniques with archival material taken from both Spooner and Mc Hardy’s grandmothers’ collections; family photographs, vérité camerawork, sketchbooks and field recordings, to suggest a journey. Driven by curiosity and a desire to listen deeply, Eva explores and attempts to capture the world around her, stepping further and further from the familiar.

TRAVELLING; Muyassar Kurdi; MUSIC: Nicholas Jozwiak; USA; 16MM to digi; 10.09
TRAVELLING: a short 16mm movement film exploring gravity, vulnerability, spaces between spaces, visual rhythm, and presence.